The Cord

Nolwenn Hervé / France / 2026 / World Premiere / 95 min

In Venezuela, giving birth has become a life-threatening act. At the center of this crisis is Carolina, a fearless activist who has been fighting for justice since her teenage years. Drawing from her past, she creates a resilience network in her underprivileged neighborhood, leading women in the fight for bodily autonomy and safe birthing conditions.

With her right hand Yanni, Carolina transforms a small car into a makeshift ambulance – part hearse, part nursery, part safe space for conversations about sexuality. A chorus of women enter and leave, each seeking to give birth safely and with dignity. From these struggles emerges Carolina’s most radical idea: a birth house, created outside failing state structures. 

Initially skeptical of her grandmother’s animistic spirituality, Carolina finds guidance in Flor, a Wayúu midwife from the native communities of Venezuela and Colombia. They envision a space where ancestral practices and Western medicine come together in a self-sustaining, community-led model of care. A place where women reclaim autonomy over their bodies, their births, and their futures.